I really want to thank the Pleasant Hills Public Library for giving the Museum the opportunity to teach their visitors some simple ways to explore electricity. I would also like to thank the library for letting me make such a big mess in their activity room. There was a big crowd of people waiting for the me to show up with my box of batteries and motors and lights. And everyone was really open to the fact that we were going to explore all the components and that some of them may or may not work. A lot of the younger kids had a lot of fun simply figuring out how to get a light to turn on using some wires and batteries.

The older kids got into the prototyping spirit. They really tinkered with what you could do with a motor. There was a ridiculous “party boat” created that had a motorized engine and lights and six battery packs. There was also a complicated and really loud circuit created by a kid and a library volunteer (who had some experience working at Pittsburgh’s Science Center). The entire time spent at the library was really fun for me. Everyone enjoyed sharing what worked and what didn’t.

Thanks again to the Pleasant Hills Public Library for putting the word out for this workshop and bringing so many excited patrons. I wish I could visit next week and explore their next activity, LEGOS, with them.